PA: City police chief wants to attack area dog fighting

City police chief wants to attack area dog fighting
By KELLY MONITZ (Staff Writer)
Published: July 28, 2013


Hazleton police Chief Frank DeAndrea and his officers found dogs dead, ripped apart, mutilated, malnourished and dying - victims of inhumane owners who bred and trained them to fight - often to the death.

Dog fighting, an illegal, gambling enterprise linked to gangs, drugs and a culture of violence, does exist within the community, he said.

DeAndrea hopes to attack this culture and end the violence that is affecting the community, leaving people afraid to walk the streets.

"We have to break free of the grip that violence has," he said. "A faction of the community, a faction of civilization is being raised to believe this is OK. A portion of society not only accepts it, they think it's fun. It's a mentality.

"If we can stop dog fighting, we can stop teaching a community and a culture that violence is acceptable," he said.

DeAndrea hopes to combat the problem by training his officers to recognize the signs of dog fighting and deploying his special operations group to arrest those involved through an $85,000 grant to stem illegal gambling.

"The biggest illegal gambling problem we have isn't a back room poker game or poker machine in a bar," he said. "It's dog and cock fights. It's animal fighting."

Combined with Attorney General Kathleen Kane's street crime unit aimed at attacking gangs and their many criminal enterprises, DeAndrea hopes this multi-pronged approach will clean up the community.

DeAndrea attended a training session on animal fighting and cruelty investigations in Harrisburg on Wednesday, he said. The training included discussion led by national animal fighting expert, Janette Reever of the Humane Society of the United States.

It's training that DeAndrea plans to host here for law enforcement and lobby for Lackawanna Community College to adopt as part of their Act 120 program, because officers need to learn about animal fighting.

In Hazleton, officers began seeing an influx of a certain breed of dog into the area about five years ago - the pit bull terrier, a medium-size, stocky dog historically bred to fight, DeAndrea explained. The breed's extremely loyalty makes them ideal for fighting, because the dog so aims to please its master that it will fight to the death, he said.

Pit bulls - which DeAndrea also described as a great breed and a family-loving dog - get a bad reputation because a select group of people have badly trained and mistreated them, which have led to attacks on people, he said.

A properly trained pit bull, especially those involved in professional-level dog fighting, will never attack a person, DeAndrea said. In a professional dog fighting match, handlers and referees are in the ring with the dog and spectators are all around, he said.

"They should not be people aggressive," he said.

Those involved in dog fighting here aren't on the professional level or semi-professional level, which involves knowledge and certain skills, DeAndrea said.

Those here are amateurs or street fighters, he said. They're likely involved in gangs or drugs and they train the dog to be aggressive to keep people away from their homes and property, he said.

People shouldn't blame the dog for the aggression, but the owners, DeAndrea said, likening that kind of training to bad parenting.

"You should not train a dog to do inhumane things," he said. "The animals are the true victims here."

The dogs are trained to attack another dog's face, front and back legs - often ripping the other animal apart and crushing or snapping bones, DeAndrea explained. They continue to fight until one dies or loses the will to fight and is killed, he said.

A fight could last seconds or hours, DeAndrea said, and people bet on the outcome with thousands of dollars changing hands.

Prosecuting those involved is difficult, because owners and handlers say they weren't involved when police raid a dog fight, claiming to be spectators, he said.

Bills are being considered in the U.S. House and Senate that would make attending a dog fight a felony, DeAndrea said. Due to the criminal penalties, this act would discourage people from attending these fights and make the fights unprofitable for organizers, he said.

"You got to take the money out of it," he said.

DeAndrea encouraged residents to contact their legislators about passing the Animal Fighting Spectators Prohibition Act. He also encouraged residents to educate themselves about dog fighting, and to call 911 if they suspect someone is breeding dogs for fighting or holding fights.

People should look for things such a large amounts of feces in a yard, muffled barks from inside a house, unusual items being brought into a home or yelling and thumps of heads clashing together, he said.

People should also be aware that street-level dog fights could pop up anywhere - an empty lot, an abandoned building or house, a garage or barn, DeAndrea said. They could also last anywhere from a few seconds to hours, he said.

If someone believes a fight is in progress, they should call police or 911, and get good descriptions and license plates numbers, DeAndrea said. Do not go into the middle of a dog fight, he said. Police do not go into a dog fight alone, due to the violent nature of the event and those involved, he said.

DeAndrea will use the illegal gaming grant to pay for overtime for the department's special operations group to go to these fights and contain the area, he said. He then wants to go after the organizers and owners' property used for dog fighting, such as the house where the fight was held, or car used to transport the dogs, to further remove profits, he said.

"It is a criminal enterprise," DeAndrea said. "The attorney general is extremely supportive. When they're here, they will be investigating these crimes - dog fighting, drugs, gangs. It's all the same thing - violent street crimes.

"We've got to get a handle on it," he said. "If we could take out drug dealers, maybe we could stop dog fighting. If we take out dog fighters, we may be stopping gang violence. If we stop the gangs, we're stopping the drugs. It's all entwined."


Hazleton police Chief Frank DeAndrea pets a champion fighting dog during a training session at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg on Wednesday. The dog, Hazel, is owned by Janette Reever of the Humane Society of the United States, who led the session.

City police chief wants to attack area dog fighting - News - Standard Speaker